What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V?

The original question is what does it take to surpass a SME V? My turntable is a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse. So it's a floating subchassis. I have no need to discuss tonearm and bearing mounting structure because my choice is defined by the 1 inch thick aluminum subchassis. 

Sorry OP 😥

Yes, lately analog threads on audiogon have the tendency of running off the rails, far away from OP's original inquiry.

The good news is your Cosmos table is fantastic, as is your SME V arm (which I'd love to try someday). You're in the happy position of trying to improve on existing greatness. The Cosmos's rigid sub-chassis is a key part of that design, which was my objection to the arm pod suggestion (not to mention having to manage P2S distance and dustcover clearance, etc). The SOTA's are simply designed to work well with gimbal arms of around 9" - 9.5", on their integrated arm boards. And the SME V is kind of a "classic" for that form factor. Besides the FR64fx, I've had a Technics EPA-500 on my SOTA Nova; it was also quite nice and kinda wish I'd bought it. 

Bettering a SME V is going to depend on the table, musical choice and the cartridge synergy to the arm..all of which are totally subjective to each listener.

There are a number of interesting tonearm designs out there today. The new Supratrac Blackbird is an interesting play on a multiple point unipivot for example. 

Budget considerations are also in question here, as a Basis Superarm 9 will better a SME V, but at a price! 

The old war horse SME 3012 is not a contender IMHO. Unless, of course you like a certain colored and non-resolved sound. ( Many are convinced they do!). The knife edge chatter of its bearing is pretty easy to hear on a high enough resolving system!

The aforementioned Vivid Float is a good option, as are the newer Well Tempered Arms ( Bill Firebaugh knows a thing or two about arm design, IMO). 

Lots of options to replace the SME V, all are colored to one extent or another, so you pick your flavor..:0)

One new tonearm that looks VERY interesting, and is actually quite reasonably priced (2,200 Euros preorder), is the Korf TA-SF9R. It has removable headshells and should easily fit a SOTA. If you peruse the Korf blog, the designer has made absolutely HEROIC efforts at a scientific-based approach to tonearm design while maintaining the perspective of a true audiophile and analog lover. I definitely don't need another arm, but have half a mind to try one myself.

Mulveling, What is there about the Korf tonearm that leads you to believe it might outperform an SME V?  What I see is that neither the pivot point nor the counterweight lie in the plane of the LP surface.  Nor does the CW appear to be decoupled from the pivot, although it may be.  All 3 of those design elements are now fairly well accepted to be optimal for a pivoted tonearm, at least according to theory.  Yes, there are many great vintage tonearms that don't meet these design criteria and still manage to sound excellent.

@pindac , wrong again pindac. The Sota has a 1" thick aluminum sub chassis to which the plater and tonearm are firmly bolted. It is as rigid as they come. If you mean the suspension that is a vital part of any turntable that claims to be high performance. It is isolating that rigid sub chassis from the rest of this very noisy world.

@neonknight , The one thing about the Cosmos that makes life a little difficult is the tonearm board is recessed into the plinth which limits your choice of arms. Arms that I know for a fact fit and work well are the Kuzma 4 Point 9, Your SME, The Schroder CB and Reference, Rega Arms and Origin live arms. The SME V is actually a very light arm and is more comfortable with compliant cartridges. The vast majority of high end cartridges are medium compliance and might do better with slightly heavier arms like the Kuzma and Schroder. I opted for the Schroder because it is an elegant design. The simple exterior hides very sophisticated underpinnings. It has adjustable tonearm mass with three different weight cartridge plates and accessory counterweights of various size. It has the best antiskating device I have ever used by a country mile. Lastly, it fits the Sota like a glove. The other advantage is Donna is now very familiar with the arm and knows what mass the tonearm board needs to have to keep the suspension in tune. They showed The Nova with a CB installed I believe. The SME V also fits the Sota beautifully. Will the Schroder outperform it. This probably depends on the cartridge. It would most likely be a sideways move. There is no tonearm made that is significantly better than the V. Is your Cosmos up to date? Vacuum? Eclipse? 

@lewm , there does not appear to be anything special about the Korf arm. As you've noticed it has some design deficiencies.

@mulveling , I think that would be a mistake. If you want a less expensive arm that rocks the Kuzma 4 Point 9 would be a great choice. I think like me you are always window shopping.